How's The $ In San Francisco??
I was supposed to move to SF weeks ago, and i'm stalling, cos right now i'm in vegas, and easilly making 3-400 a night, and that's just like 5 hours a day. everyone keeps on about how its so expensive there in SF, and that dancing doesn't make much...i just wanna ask, can anyone tell me how the $ are in SF? my 1st choice of club would be Hustler, and would be happy making 3-400 a night, but i am not a big contact dancer....so how is there these days? Is 3-400 a reasonable amount to expect to make if you're experienced?
Thanks.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
i'll recount a story: a new girl to the club and i were talking in the dressing room a couple weeks ago and she asked me how $ had been lately, to which i replied "pretty lousy" (i think i took home $120 the night before and not much more than that for the last week). her response was "oh...like 600?"....and all i could do was laugh...
you could probably make 3-400 a night with some good hustling but not total difficulty at Hustler based on reports by friends of mine who migrated there. im not sure how winter gets though as the weeks go by. i dont know how much contact you're used to but expect one way at least and probably more in more private dance areas.
san francisco is very expensive, and unfortunately our earnings don't always accomidate for that (in fact, it seems like cost of living/earnings seems to have quite an inverse relationship these days). good luck!
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
When I lived in SF (now this was 3 years ago) and worked at Hustler I would fly to Vegas on the weekends because it was cheaper than staying in my own city to work. Hustler fees are much higher than Vegas ($80 base fee plus a $10 cut to the house for each VIP dance) My average payout to the club, bouncers, dj, etc was $200 night. So, to walk with 300 you have to make 500. I rationalized it this way: if I were to work Friday and Sat night at Hustler, it would cost me $400. I could fly to Vegas for 75 split a room at the sahara for $100 and pay $70 at OGs for the same two nights. No brainer.
In my opinion, contact was much higher in SF (another reason I was flying to Vegas every weekend). Management turns their head at extras in the private rooms, prompting girls to offer and overcharge on those extras to counterbalance the $10 cut the house takes for each song. Suppose you sell someone 3 for 100 in VIP, you really only get $70. So, you can either grease the palms of the floormen who count your dances for the house and hope they don't mark it down, or you can offer extra and charge 3 for 130. Either way, you don't get to keep all. DejaVu has cornered the market too, they own every club in town except for Mitchell Bros, so you have literally no options if you don't like their management style.
You said that you were "stalling" and then alluded to money concerns. Why do you want to move? If you are moving to SF for the culture, climate, food, history, educational institutions, and other things that the city offers, then I say go for it. I had a blast the year I lived there. Of course I couldn't afford to continue to live there.....
If you are moving there because you "heard" or you might "think" it's a better financial option than Vegas, you may want to re-evaluate. With apartment rents hovering around $2k/month, (my rent was $2200 for a 2br/1bath in 2001) that means you will have to have to fork over $4k up front for move in plus the costs of relocating. Food is more expensive, gas is more expensive, it costs $25/night just to park your car for 8 hours when you go to work. It's friggin' cold too! Year round temps are a damp bone chilling foggy 65 degrees. You'll have to buy warmer clothes.
I actually just had a similar conversation with someone on this topic the other day. Take it from someone who moved every August from 1993-2003. Moving around the country because you're not happy "somewhere" and you think some other "place" will make you happier doesn't work.
Every city has the same thing: people, places to eat, drink, and be merry, and (in our case) stripclubs to work in. The only thing that changes is climate and cost of living...people are the same everywhere, so you will probably find and make friends with the same types of people.
Why don't you like Vegas? You already live in a place where thousands of dancers flock in order to "make better money" than somewhere else.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
britneyireland is correct. I live outside the Bay Area and even here the cost of living has shot up with urban sprawl & real estate craze. I danced here for almost two years and hated it. With the way cities are about adult entertainment, there's no middle ground- it's either the prostitution-heavy SF area to contend with or the low-earning no touch clubs of the outer Bay & central valley.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
i actually wanna move to SF anyway...not to dance...for a whole bunch of other reasons, but my worry is that i wont be able to live on the dancers $ out there. i plan to spend around $900-1000 on rent, living outside the city, but what's the point in dancing for $1-200 a night if you can bar tend and earn that?
sounds bad that you have to make 500 to earn 300...that sounds like a lotta stress and hard work, not to mention probably a lot of contact?
does snayone know about clubs within easy commute to the bay area? you mentioned no touch/bikini bars?
thanx.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
I run into a lot of girls from the Bay Area and Sacramento here in Reno (Orchid or Fantasy Girls.. Jack's is not a money maker) coming up on the weekends. I know, personally, my income is decent and consistant with only medium contact.
Reno is a 3 1/2-4 hour commute in good weather. With winter coming it will be longer because of the mountain pass.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
Realistically, you will have to look VERY hard to find an apartment in the 900-1000 range in a decent area. The suburbs aren't much cheaper than the city, in many cases they're more expensive. I remember we went to look at what appeared to be a great deal on a 2 br flat near the "water" for only 1600. Then we went to look at it and had to dodge bullets. Literally, there was a turf war going on around the corner when the owner showed us the place. His comment was "Hmm, usually doesn't happen during the day"
There aren't any bikini bars in the East Bay or Marin. There are a handful in the South Bay, San Jose area. AJs and Brass Rail are the only names that come to mind.
Veronika is right, dancers commute long and far in Northern CA. I worked with girls at Hustler that drove up from Fresno, down from Healdsburg, and west from Sacramento. Many would also go to Reno during the winter season as well.
You could probably "live on" what dancers and/or bartenders make. We were able to pay our bills each month, but there was very little left over for things like eating out, vacations, savings, etc.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
A decent and clean income CAN be made in SF, but you will have to work twice as hard and not allow yourself to be distracted. Rent is not as high now as it was in 2001. I currently pay $1500 for a 2BR/1BA in the downtown area, you can find a decent studio for the $900 range. Keep in mind if you move to the City it is more cost effective to lose the car and cab or take local transport. With the rising cost of owning, operating, and maintaining a vehicle, getting rid of it will offset the increase in rent. On working in SF, the beginning of the week is the best time to work to make money in the clubs, IMO. The weekends are better spent working in Vegas or just enjoying the local culture. I have worked and lived there for the past 2 years, but it has become increasingly difficult to make money and stay within legal parameters while doing it. I have not been there for the past 3 weeks, but my best friend reported that there were alot of displaced dancers from the hurricane, or just visiting...can anyone confirm? Take a trip, check things out. It may be the place for you!
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
it seems that way, Glam -- last two nights i've worked have been so bizarre in the fact that at least half the girls there were brand new to me, and you know i'm pretty new myself.
miss seeing you around!
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
I've been doing quite well, my earnings have increased the last couple of months. I've been hustling my ass off. Luckily I've been getting away with doing 6 hr shifts. It's usually mandatory you do 8 hr shifts.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
[QUOTE=Veronika]I run into a lot of girls from the Bay Area and Sacramento here in Reno (Orchid or Fantasy Girls.. QUOTE]
I live in Sacramento and it is not expensive at all, and judging from what you guys said the money is better too *depending on the club*. I have a 2 BR 2 bath apartment and we pay just over $900...more than affordable split between 2 couples. And this is in a decent, quiet neighborhood with lots of grass & trees, pools, tennis courts, etc. I had a studio in a rougher (but not unsafe) neighborhood across town and paid $550.
Dancing in Sac, if you go to a smaller club like Pure Gold, Fantasy, etc, from what I hear girls average $150-300 on weeknights, slightly higher on weekends. At my club (Gold Club Centerfolds), we clean girls average $400 on weeknights, $600+ on weekends. Rent at GC is $50/night (you pay at the door), about $40-60 in tip out...do the math...THAT is why I moved here, instead of the Bay Area. Of course, the downside is that you have to actually live in Sacramento, which, outside of Sac State and a few bars downtown, kind of blows.
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
i wanted to post about the living expenses in sf.
I have lived here for 6 months in the mission district.
I pay $720 for a bedroom in a large house with a backyard. The house was renovated recently so it is nice and modern on the inside. I havea cat who loves the big house and backyard. I drive to work and park on the street at home. Parking is fine except when coming home from the club at like 3am. all the spots are taken. so i actually park away from home and ride my bicycle from my car to my house (4-6 blocks away).
i dont know if that seems like a hard life, but its not costing me near the amount its costing other people i see on this site.
it all depends on the neighborhood and what you're willing to live in.
the sf style of living is to live with a group of people, in a building that is typically old. everyone smokes pot and most people bike it. all i am saying is that if you want to live like you would in Houston, it will cost you thousands of dollars a month. but if you can live like a native, its not too expensive. My friends have always been like artists, food service workers, etc. i live like they do in sf. $720 for a big house with nice people and a warm bedroom is all I need!
Im just trying to balance out the picture here on living costs.
-k
Re: How's The $ In San Francisco??
Quote:
Originally Posted by kitatonic
the sf style of living is to live with a group of people, in a building that is typically old. everyone smokes pot and most people bike it. all i am saying is that if you want to live like you would in Houston, it will cost you thousands of dollars a month. but if you can live like a native, its not too expensive. My friends have always been like artists, food service workers, etc. i live like they do in sf. $720 for a big house with nice people and a warm bedroom is all I need!
Im just trying to balance out the picture here on living costs.
-k
This is a absolutely true!! At one point, I had a roomie (who practically never paid his rent--arrgh!!) and someone couch surfing. There was, however a communal dynamic in my house and it was great. Always folks to chill with. The lifestyle there in SF is like none other in the country.
But I'm loving Phoenix!! (Hot weather hasn't hit yet, though!!)